Why The Japanese Are Way Cooler Than Us Americans

Perhaps a bit overstating there, but in many ways it seems true. For example, Americans created baseball, and it is our national pastime – but even though we have always been rather dominant in the sport, once an actual world championship was created (the World Baseball Classic), Japan showed the world who’s got game (they’ve won both tournaments so far). That’s just cool.

Know what else is cool? Studio Ghibli. I mean, these guys are just the absolute greatest at what they do – and what they do is make awesome animated films.

… I’m looking at that last sentence and it’s not doing it for me. “Awesome” is a word that simply gets bandied about too much, and has lost its punch. Ok, how about this: Studio Ghibli makes films that will instill a wholly childlike sense of awe and wonder in you, and make you wish that the film never ends so that you never have to go back to the real world. Alright, I like that better, but it still doesn’t do them justice. The films these guys put out there just exude a coolness on a level that no American animation even comes close to – not even our mighty Pixar.

Helmed by the masterful Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli has created some of the most wonderful films (and think about that word a minute – wonderful … FULL of WONDER) the world has ever seen. The films are so wildly successful in their native Japan, that Disney secured rights to dub them in English for North American release. If you’ve ever seen a Japanese movie dubbed in English, you might think this is a terrible idea – but in their defense, Disney does the right thing by Miyazaki’s films, hiring the right actors to get down the rightly translated dialogue. While I usually insist on watching anime in Japanese with English subtitles, Disney’s dubs of Miyazaki’s films are a pleasant exception, and are excellently done. They are even so well received here that Spirited Away won the Academy Award for best animated film in 2002.

Last year, Japanese audiences were treated to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s newest film – and the slow process of properly translating the script, finding the right actors and redubbing it in English has finally come to fruition for Disney, who will be releasing Ponyo on August 14th. Check the trailer, then get the family together and tell them not to make plans for August 14th!

- Goodchild

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Movie Releases: May 29th

A lot was made about Wall-E when it came out. Many people thought that an animated family movie that starred a non-speaking robot and that had minimal amounts of dialogue would be lost on the children that were its target demographic. As we all know, this was obviously not the case – the movie was a huge success, and as such can be construed as a step forward for the art of Pixar Studios.

A quick look at a list of Pixar’s major motion pictures reads as a list of 9 titles – and only one of those films had human protagonists (The Incredibles – though the characters in the lead role were superhuman). So, when we look at Up!, the 10th major release by Pixar, we can’t righteously call it a “return to form” when we see it’s a film about a human. In fact, it’s quite abnormal – and if we factor in that the story revolves around a man in his 70’s (who does NOT have any super powers), we see that Pixar is pushing their own envelope again, trying to do something new instead of playing it safe and rehashing old ideas.

Earlier in the year, the film’s director and producer screened the first half of the movie for a select few (no, I was not there, but I read about it) and it seems that once again Pixar is looking to take a more artistic route, and have sections of the movie without dialogue. They’re quickly becoming a family friendly studio akin to the Cohen Brothers (Blood Simple, No Country For Old Men, etc.) in that respect.

Up! seems to have a great story, as well. An old man decides to floa t his house to South America in order to fulfill the travel dream he had with his late wife. A nice and touching story, with room for fantastic adventure and great comedy. I am a huge fan of Pixar, and though I might have to see Drag Me To Hell first, I’ll be seeing Up! as soon as I can.

- Goodchild

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Stop-Motion Gem: Coraline 3D

When I saw the trailer for Coraline I was instantly sold. Just say creepy stop-motion fantasy and I'll pretty much be there every time. I had the chance to catch Coraline this weekend and I have to say I was blown away. Ok, it wasn't the best story and parts of it got a little slow but the visuals and the artistry behind the film was incredible. All I can say is that we've come a long way since Gumby. The entire film is in stop-motion, and everything you see in the film was hand made. Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) directed this film and did a great job as he usually does, but kudos to the creative and talented artists who literally brought this thing to life.


Coraline is also the first stop-motion feature shot in stereoscopic 3D. This means you have to watch it with those 3D glasses. I wasn't sure what I thought about all this 3D hype, but it was really amazing. I wish I was tripping my face off watching this, but anyway, this is definitely a movie you need to catch in the theaters.

- Sonic

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